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A British Columbia man is being sanctioned in a settlement with the Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) after admitting he breached securities rules by participating in a scheme to boost a company’s stock price.

A hearing panel of the ASC approved a settlement between the regulator and Michael Baron — a B.C. resident who provided investor relations services to an Alberta-based company, Softlab9 Software Solutions Inc., through his consulting company and related firms. Baron admitted to engaging in trading that contributed to a misleading appearance of activity in Softlab shares.

Specifically, the regulator alleged that Baron, along with others, engaged in “uptick trading and bid support” for shares of Softlab in 2020.

“Uptick trading and bid support are trading strategies used in market manipulations to show false momentum or interest in the trading of a stock and to create an artificial price for the stock, not reflective of genuine supply and demand,” the ASC noted.

According to the settlement, between April and October 2020, Baron traded Softlab shares through two self-directed brokerage accounts and through a full-service brokerage account, in concert with three others who are also facing allegations from the ASC.

“During the trading period, Baron coordinated his trading activity with the respondents in an effort to give a false and misleading appearance of trading activity and to artificially increase Softlab’s share price,” it said.

However, the settlement also noted that Baron “had a less significant role than the other respondents in the market manipulation,” and no role in other alleged violations, including high closing, wash trading, and failing to comply with insider disclosure and early warning requirements.

It also said he didn’t profit from the manipulative trading and wasn’t an insider or significant shareholder in the company.

Under the settlement, Baron agreed to be banned for four years and to pay $50,000 to the ASC (including $10,000 in costs).

The ASC had scheduled a hearing into the allegations against the other respondents in the case for May 26, but the hearing was adjourned to February 2026.

The allegations against the others have not been proven.